1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for loading data on chip cards and to devices adapted therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Present-day chip cards (smart cards) make possible the secure storage and processing of data. Through their structure having a monochip embedded in a substrate, they may be considered secure. Chip cards are utilized in various branches of industry for various functions, e.g. as SIM cards for identifying network subscribers, for instance SIM cards in a GSM network for identifying GSM subscribers, as cards having a debit function, e.g. for making telephone calls or getting gasoline, as cards having the function of electronic wallets which can be reloaded with sums of money, or as credential-cards for entrance or admission checks. Although all these solutions are proprietary, and no manufacturer-overlapping implementations are available, the technology and standardization work has currently progressed to the point where it is possible to expand the chip card in such a way that it may be considered an open, manufacturer-neutral platform. It is also conceivable to load one or more dedicated applications on the card, simultaneously or at different times, which can especially also intercommunicate. In addition, it is also possible to produce simultaneously chip cards having standardized interfaces with contacts and having contactless interfaces. Although such flexibility of interfaces and loadable applications is foreseeable, there is still a lack of flexibility as regards the loading of respective program applications and data, particularly data corresponding to sums of money.
Described in the patent applications WO96/38814 and DE 196 11 072 A1 are chip cards that have both contact and contactless interfaces.
Described in the patent application WO 97/04609 is a system for carrying out bank transactions between two chip cards, both of which comprise an account set up on the card and both of which are able to be inserted into a telephone; the telephone can be either a telephone installed in a fixed way or a mobile telephone. According to WO 97/04609, in addition to the card reader module which is used to receive the SIM card (Subscriber Identification Module), the mobile telephones each further comprise a further card reader module in which the chip cards with the accounts can be inserted. In another variant embodiment of WO 97/04609, the chip cards with the accounts and the SIM cards are combined, which means the accounts are implemented on the SIM cards in each case. For carrying out a payment transaction between the accounts on the chip cards (respectively on the SIM cards), according to WO 97/04609, a telephone connection is made by the payer with his telephone, for example via a mobile radio network, to the telephone of the payment recipient. The monetary amount for the transaction is entered by the payer into his telephone, is debited locally against the account on his chip card, is transmitted via the telephone network to the telephone of the payment recipient, and is credited there to the respective account on the chip card of the payment recipient.